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having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os



 
 
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  #11  
Old May 4th 08, 05:37 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
Gary S. Terhune[_2_]
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 2,158
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os

What little other info I could find (besides what Franc found) suggests that
at some point they did start making OEM copies bootable. But while my
experience with OEM copies is limited, and my memory sucks BIG TIME, I do
recall using several and don't recall them being bootable, but then, when
you boil out how many times I actually used one for Setup.... Fact is, my
standard setup starts with copying the WIN98 directory to the HD and
otherwise using a bootable floppy (or CD version of same) (and/or BING) to
prepare the disk(s) and SYS the boot drive. After that, no discs are
involved.

I wonder... When shopping for a copy of XP, I found a "system builder's"
version that seems to be something different than the OEM versions, though
I'm not certain what difference there might be except in license (IIRC once
the SB build is installed, it may never be installed again on any except the
exact same hardware. No wiggle room.) I don't know the provenance of your
machines, but if they come mostly from large industrial/commercial
sources... Perhaps there's such a thing as an SB version of Win98SE?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"philo" wrote in message
...

"Franc Zabkar" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 3 May 2008 19:30:07 -0500, "philo" put
finger to keyboard and composed:


"xskarmah" wrote in message
...
I got a laptop free and wanted to install 98 on it, a clean install
for

my
nephew. I burned a bootcd, and managed to format and partition it, my
trouble
starts because I dont have another disk drive to put the iso I have
in,

I
only have the one drive, the laptop does not have a Floppy drive.


Any suggestions? Whenever I try and use any setup commands I get

invalid
media trying to read disk


Win98 cd's at least legit ones are generally bootable
so you do not need a floppy


This URL suggests that Win98 CDs were not bootable:
http://www.webtree.ca/newlife/posts/win98_editions.htm



I am still looking to see if I have any non-oem cd's
but I now think that I was wrong when I said they were bootable.

Though the win98cd's I have are bootable...all the one's I have found
are "generic" OEM cd's that were to "be used only with a new PC"




  #12  
Old May 4th 08, 07:24 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
philo
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,318
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os


"Gary S. Terhune" none wrote in message
...
What little other info I could find (besides what Franc found) suggests

that
at some point they did start making OEM copies bootable. But while my
experience with OEM copies is limited, and my memory sucks BIG TIME, I do
recall using several and don't recall them being bootable, but then, when
you boil out how many times I actually used one for Setup.... Fact is, my
standard setup starts with copying the WIN98 directory to the HD and
otherwise using a bootable floppy (or CD version of same) (and/or BING) to
prepare the disk(s) and SYS the boot drive. After that, no discs are
involved.

I wonder... When shopping for a copy of XP, I found a "system builder's"
version that seems to be something different than the OEM versions, though
I'm not certain what difference there might be except in license (IIRC

once
the SB build is installed, it may never be installed again on any except

the
exact same hardware. No wiggle room.) I don't know the provenance of your
machines, but if they come mostly from large industrial/commercial
sources... Perhaps there's such a thing as an SB version of Win98SE?



Interesting.

Basically the machines I get could be anything.
I scrounge them up from where-ever I can get them.
Individuals, offices and junk piles..you name it.

I still have many of the Certificate of Authenticity booklets for the
bootable win98 cd's
and the ones I have are from either Gateway, Compaq or HP...
and they all are just generic Microsoft cd's for win98se.

Though the books have different manufacturer names on them...
the one thing is common is all of then have the same number in the lower
left hand
portion of the cover : X04-15747 and appear to have been printed in 1999.
Or at least that is the newest copyright date I can find anywhere.

Well one thing I know I will not ever be doing ...is going with the "system
builder's" version
of XP...I change my hardware continuously. I am now using my Win2k
machine...which is the one I seem
to use most often. The HD in here has been transplanted into different
machines at least 4 times now
over a period of many years. Though it requires a repair install...it just
keeps going without
and problems.


  #13  
Old May 4th 08, 09:41 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
Franc Zabkar
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,702
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os

On Sun, 4 May 2008 13:24:40 -0500, "philo" put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Basically the machines I get could be anything.
I scrounge them up from where-ever I can get them.
Individuals, offices and junk piles..you name it.

I still have many of the Certificate of Authenticity booklets for the
bootable win98 cd's
and the ones I have are from either Gateway, Compaq or HP...
and they all are just generic Microsoft cd's for win98se.


Why do Win98SE CDs still sell for $40 to $50 on Ebay? Surely those old
PCs that use Win98 aren't worth that much. Is there a big demand for
legacy equipment? Where does it all go? Charities? Old folks?

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
  #14  
Old May 4th 08, 09:49 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
xskarmah
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 2
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os

Oh my god, such a fast response, thanks everyone. I'm still struggling,
everything I seem to do doesn't seem to work. I got my disk from


Allbootdisks.com

The problem is that the laptop has an interchangeable cd and floppy drive,
and I, of course don't have the floppy portion.

Okay, I've read the help file and I tried sys, I've tried the ext, I've
tried everything I could think of and these are my results:



"Sys C:"
Invalid media type reading drive C.

Ext is the extraction utility and I get somewhere, with that one at least.
but I don't know exactly what to put in there.


"Ext'

Microsoft Extract Command Line Helper
Please enter the path to the windows CAB files (a _
"E:"

What are the Name(s) of the File(s) that you wish to extract?_
"Win98"

Please enter the path that you wish to extract to, ( enter for current
directory)
"(Enter)"
I've also tried
"C:"
The options you entered we
Source path E:
File(s) to extract Win98
Destination path C:
Is this okay? (y/n)
"y"


Error cannot open file E: \ (null)




I'm really stuck on this one, and I know I could scrap it and all, but it's
become a personal vendetta and i really want completion


thanks so much for helping guys.



"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

My suggestion: Use IsoBuster to extract the contents of the Win98 ISO. All
you need from this ISO is the folder named WIN98. The rest is generally
useless. Make a bootable CD and copy the WIN98 folder to it. Boot to the CD
and then run SETUP.EXE from the WIN98 folder.

But my preferred method is: If you made your original bootable CD from a
WIN98 Startup floppy disk, then you should be able to run the following
command:
SYS C:
Then copy the WIN98 folder to the hard drive, remove the CD, restart and
you'll get a C:\ prompt. Run the following commands:
CD WIN98
SETUP

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"xskarmah" wrote in message
...
I got a laptop free and wanted to install 98 on it, a clean install for my
nephew. I burned a bootcd, and managed to format and partition it, my
trouble
starts because I dont have another disk drive to put the iso I have in, I
only have the one drive, the laptop does not have a Floppy drive.


Any suggestions? Whenever I try and use any setup commands I get invalid
media trying to read disk



  #15  
Old May 4th 08, 10:14 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
philo
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,318
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os


snip

I still have many of the Certificate of Authenticity booklets for the
bootable win98 cd's
and the ones I have are from either Gateway, Compaq or HP...
and they all are just generic Microsoft cd's for win98se.


Why do Win98SE CDs still sell for $40 to $50 on Ebay? Surely those old
PCs that use Win98 aren't worth that much. Is there a big demand for
legacy equipment? Where does it all go? Charities? Old folks?

- Franc Zabkar



If win98 cd's are selling for that much on eBay...
I'm in the wrong business...I figured they'd be in the $15 price range.

That said: Windows 98 still lives on.


Since I am a Microsoft authorized refurbisher who re-certifies donated
machines
for an NPO...our cost for an XP or Win2k license is just $5...so I am pretty
much through
setting up win98 machines...but there is still a demand for them.

Though I suppose old folks and charities may account for some of it...
there are still plenty of individuals and businesses who rely on legacy
software
and devices....especially devices that require "real mode" DOS.

Many of the elderly feel they cannot learn anything newer than Win98...
and though there is no reason they should have a problem with a newer OS...
once you have an idea in your mind...that can often be "end of discussion".

Some of the computers...are used to run factory machinery and use
specialized applications. I have a friend who keeps such equipment running.
http://www.tdlelectronics.com/
Once in a while he'll come to me for a win98 or even win95 computer...
just for the purposes of running the software.
Since such a machine would have a replacement cost of at least a million
dollars or so,
they'd have no problem paying for a legacy computer...even if I wanted to
charge some outrageous
price.


  #16  
Old May 4th 08, 11:14 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
hilarowg
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os

On May 3, 5:30*pm, "philo" wrote:
"xskarmah" wrote in message

...

I got a laptop free and wanted to install 98 on it, a clean install for my
nephew. I burned a bootcd, and managed to format and partition it, my

trouble
starts because I dont have another disk drive to put the iso I have in, I
only have the one drive, the laptop does not have a Floppy drive.


Any suggestions? Whenever I try and use any setup commands I get invalid
media trying to read disk


Win98 cd's at least legit ones are generally bootable
so you do not need a floppy


Great idea, but the CD is not a boot option and the bios has no way to
make it a boot option. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Gary
  #17  
Old May 4th 08, 11:51 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
philo
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,318
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os


"hilarowg" wrote in message
...
On May 3, 5:30 pm, "philo" wrote:
"xskarmah" wrote in message

...

I got a laptop free and wanted to install 98 on it, a clean install for

my
nephew. I burned a bootcd, and managed to format and partition it, my

trouble
starts because I dont have another disk drive to put the iso I have in,

I
only have the one drive, the laptop does not have a Floppy drive.


Any suggestions? Whenever I try and use any setup commands I get invalid
media trying to read disk


Win98 cd's at least legit ones are generally bootable
so you do not need a floppy


Great idea, but the CD is not a boot option and the bios has no way to
make it a boot option. Any suggestions?



Well, as it turns out...it looks like not all cd's are bootable anyway.
I have kind of lost track of the threads here...and I think someone else
made this suggestion...
but here is how I load win98 on laptops that have no cd or floppy drive.

I get a laptop HD to ide adaptor such as this
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.as...=906&sku=17705

Normally they only cost a few bucks

All you have to do is temporarily put the drive into a desktop pc
then copy the entire win98 folder over to the laptop HD...
(the drive should of course be partitioned and formatted first, if it is not
already)
then shut the machine down and disconnect all HD's except the laptop drive.
now boot with a win98 floppy and enter the command sys C:

if you see the message "system transferred" you should be all set

now you can reassemble the desktop machine and put the small HD back in the
laptop
and it should bootup to the C: prompt


now enter this: cd win98
now type : setup and the installation should commence


  #18  
Old May 5th 08, 12:45 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
Gary S. Terhune[_2_]
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 2,158
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os

Please pay close attention, answer ALL questions and try not to go into too
much history or explanation. We'll take this step by step. I'll try to get
your laptop on its way.

I presume you have a functioning machine with a CD writer and CD writing
software. What software do you use (Roxio? Nero?) My Roxio allows my to
create a Windows Startup disk emulation CD and add files to it. Can yours do
that? Mine needs a real Windows 98 Startup floppy disk or ISO (like from
bootdisk.com) to emulate (copy).

You do not use EXT to get files out of an ISO. You use ISOBuster. It's free.
http://www.download.com/IsoBuster/30...-10208087.html

You install and run ISOBuster on the machine with the CD writing ability.
Use it to extract the contents of your WIN98 ISO. The result will be a
folder with the contents of a Windows 98 installation CD. One of the main
folders should be one called "WIN98". You want to make a Windows Startup
disk emulation CD and add that folder to it.

That's enough for now. Can you make a Windows Startup CD with the WIN98
folder on it?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"xskarmah" wrote in message
...
Oh my god, such a fast response, thanks everyone. I'm still struggling,
everything I seem to do doesn't seem to work. I got my disk from


Allbootdisks.com

The problem is that the laptop has an interchangeable cd and floppy drive,
and I, of course don't have the floppy portion.

Okay, I've read the help file and I tried sys, I've tried the ext, I've
tried everything I could think of and these are my results:



"Sys C:"
Invalid media type reading drive C.

Ext is the extraction utility and I get somewhere, with that one at least.
but I don't know exactly what to put in there.


"Ext'

Microsoft Extract Command Line Helper
Please enter the path to the windows CAB files (a _
"E:"

What are the Name(s) of the File(s) that you wish to extract?_
"Win98"

Please enter the path that you wish to extract to, ( enter for current
directory)
"(Enter)"
I've also tried
"C:"
The options you entered we
Source path E:
File(s) to extract Win98
Destination path C:
Is this okay? (y/n)
"y"


Error cannot open file E: \ (null)




I'm really stuck on this one, and I know I could scrap it and all, but
it's
become a personal vendetta and i really want completion


thanks so much for helping guys.



"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

My suggestion: Use IsoBuster to extract the contents of the Win98 ISO.
All
you need from this ISO is the folder named WIN98. The rest is generally
useless. Make a bootable CD and copy the WIN98 folder to it. Boot to the
CD
and then run SETUP.EXE from the WIN98 folder.

But my preferred method is: If you made your original bootable CD from a
WIN98 Startup floppy disk, then you should be able to run the following
command:
SYS C:
Then copy the WIN98 folder to the hard drive, remove the CD, restart and
you'll get a C:\ prompt. Run the following commands:
CD WIN98
SETUP

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"xskarmah" wrote in message
...
I got a laptop free and wanted to install 98 on it, a clean install for
my
nephew. I burned a bootcd, and managed to format and partition it, my
trouble
starts because I dont have another disk drive to put the iso I have in,
I
only have the one drive, the laptop does not have a Floppy drive.


Any suggestions? Whenever I try and use any setup commands I get
invalid
media trying to read disk




  #19  
Old May 5th 08, 07:30 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
Franc Zabkar
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,702
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os

On Sun, 4 May 2008 16:14:30 -0500, "philo" put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Why do Win98SE CDs still sell for $40 to $50 on Ebay? Surely those old
PCs that use Win98 aren't worth that much. Is there a big demand for
legacy equipment? Where does it all go? Charities? Old folks?

- Franc Zabkar



If win98 cd's are selling for that much on eBay...
I'm in the wrong business...I figured they'd be in the $15 price range.

That said: Windows 98 still lives on.


Since I am a Microsoft authorized refurbisher who re-certifies donated
machines
for an NPO...our cost for an XP or Win2k license is just $5...so I am pretty
much through
setting up win98 machines...but there is still a demand for them.


If you have a spare Win98SE CD, would you be willing to sell it to me?

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
  #20  
Old May 5th 08, 07:45 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.setup
philo
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,318
Default having trouble installing win98 on a laptop with no os


"Franc Zabkar" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 4 May 2008 16:14:30 -0500, "philo" put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Why do Win98SE CDs still sell for $40 to $50 on Ebay? Surely those old
PCs that use Win98 aren't worth that much. Is there a big demand for
legacy equipment? Where does it all go? Charities? Old folks?

- Franc Zabkar



If win98 cd's are selling for that much on eBay...
I'm in the wrong business...I figured they'd be in the $15 price range.

That said: Windows 98 still lives on.


Since I am a Microsoft authorized refurbisher who re-certifies donated
machines
for an NPO...our cost for an XP or Win2k license is just $5...so I am

pretty
much through
setting up win98 machines...but there is still a demand for them.


If you have a spare Win98SE CD, would you be willing to sell it to me?

- Franc Zabkar



Sure...I could always use the $75 G

Just kidding...
I'll email you shortly.


 




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